1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is particularly designed for monitoring the latching of securement apparatus often utilized with emergency equipment. With emergency vehicles such as fire trucks or the like multiple tanks are often retained with respect to the vehicle. During non-emergency times these tanks are often removed for maintenance or replaced or re-positioned as necessary for normal fire equipment maintenance operations.
It is desirable to provide a means for monitoring the securement of the various tanks utilized as emergency equipment with the fire truck. These tanks normally are used to supply emergency air supply to a firefighter.
The present invention provides an electrical monitoring means for indicating whether all or some of the tanks within a given vehicle are in the proper latched position prior to commencing use of the emergency vehicle under emergency conditions. The design of the present invention includes an indicator means for providing information at the location desired as to whether all of the tanks within a given fire truck are properly latched and in place.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Prior art configurations have been utilized for latching of such tanks and examples of similar types of latching or monitoring designs are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 988,078 patented Mar. 28, 1911 to R. B. Carter on a "Harness Buckler"; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,029,707 patented Feb. 4, 1936 to F. A Dodelin and assigned to Pyrene Manufacturing Company on a "Supporting Bracket For Fire Extinguishers"; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,271,251 patented Jan. 27, 1942 to W. B. Buck on a "Buckle For Belts"; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,287,721 patented Jun. 23, 1942 to H. Beazley on a "Buckle"; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,458,810 patented Jan. 11, 1949 to K. W. Varney et al on an "Aviator's Belt"; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,602,977 patented Jul. 15, 1952 to N. L. Tannersjo and assigned to Gosta Wannstrom on a "Buckle"; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,684,513 patented Jul. 27, 1954 to W. J. Morse and assigned to Morse-Andrews Co. on a "Buckle"; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,710,999 patented Jun. 21, 1955 to F. L. Davis and assigned to Davis Aircraft Products Inc. on a "Quick Releasable Buckle For Safety Belts"; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,846,745 patented Aug. 12, 1958 to W. M. Lathrop and assigned to Cummings & Sander on a "Buckle"; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,876,516 patented Mar. 10, 1959 to L. F. Cummings on a "Buckler"; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,893,088 patented Jul. 7, 1959 to W. W. Harper et al and assigned to Automotive Safety Associates on a "Safety Belt Buckle"; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,049,778 patented Aug. 21, 1962 to E. Weckesser on a "Ratchet Buckler"; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,050,223 patented Aug. 21, 1962 to J. D. Scioloro on a "Holder For Securing Receptacles To The Floor Of A Vehicle"; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,090,092 patented May 21, 1963 to J. C. Szemplak et al and assigned to the United States of American as represented by the Secretary of the Army on a "Double Release Safety Buckle"; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,133,277 patented May 12, 1964 to A. B. Hood on a "Vehicle Seat Belt"; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,146,846 patented Sep. 1, 1964 to J. G. Gutshall on a "Seat Belt Buckle"; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,203,064 patented Aug. 31, 1965 to M. M. Murphy, Sr. and assigned to Irving Air Chute Company, Inc. on a "Safety Belt Buckle"; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,204,775 patented Sep. 7, 1965 to G. L. Smith et al on a "Support For Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus"; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,313,573 patented Apr. 11, 1967 to R. H. Smith et al and assigned to Chrysler Corporation on a "Low Friction Seat Belt Release"; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,449,714 patented Jun. 10, 1969 to N. E. Farley, Jr. and assigned to General Motors Corporation on a "Vehicle Seatbelt Safety System"; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,561,160 patented Feb. 9, 1971 to W. Chan and assigned to Vapor Corporation on a "Crew Switch For Controlling A Door Operator"; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,579,750 patented May 25, 1971 to E. Carbon and assigned to Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft on a "Lock For Safety Belts"; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,643,813 patented Feb. 22, 1972 to R. Noonan on a "Holder For Pressure Cylinders"; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,732,843 patented May 15, 1973 to M. Pappas et al on an "Intrusion Alarm"; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,875,556 patented Apr. 1, 1975 to J. Beaird on a "Positive Seat Belt Indicator System"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,023,761 patented May 17, 1977 to J. Molis on an "Adjustable Bracket To Stabilize Upright Compressed Gas Containers Against Displacement On Mobile Vehicles And Ship-Board Installations And Maintenance Shops"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,034,697 patented Jul. 12, 1977 to W. Russell and assigned to A-T-O Inc. on a "Fire Extinguisher Cabinet"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,069,873 patented Jan. 24, 1978 to W. McClure on an "Apparatus For Fire Extinguishing System For Floating-Roof Tanks"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,339,746 patented Jul. 13, 1982 to E. Ulicki et al and assigned to U.S. Philips Corporation on an "Alarm Control Center"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,342,986 patented Aug. 3, 1982 to A. Buskirk et al and assigned to Honeywell Inc. on a "Central Station Alarm Reporting System"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,477,949 patented Oct. 23, 1984 to A. Calabro on a "Belt Buckle Construction"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,531,114 patented Jul. 23, 1985 to P. Topol and assigned to Safety Intelligence Systems on an "Intelligent Fire Safety System"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,624,034 patented Nov. 25, 1986 to K. Ishiguro et al and assigned to Kabushiki Kaisha Tokai-rika-denki-seisakusho on a "Buckle Apparatus"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,866,594 patented Sep. 12, 1989 to G. David et al and assigned to Mitel Corp. on a "Gas Cylinder Monitor And Control System"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,905,950 patented Mar. 6, 1990 to M. Turner et al and assigned to Convenience Marine Products, Inc. on a "Mounting Assembly"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,920,619 patented May 1, 1990 to R. Bender et al and assigned to Dynamit Nobel Aktiengesellschaft on a "Safety Belt With Integrated Lock Release"; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,037,129 patented Aug. 6, 1991 to E. Fritz et al and assigned to Robert Bosch GmbH on a "Safety Device For Vehicle Occupants"; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,071,100 patented Dec. 10, 1991 to H. Sweeny and assigned to Swenco Limited on a "Multi-Purpose Canister Wall Bracket"; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,165,498 patented Nov. 24, 1992 to O. Garboli et al on an "Electromechanical Device Tripped By A Trigger Box For Both Automatic And Manual Quick-Release For Motorcars Safety Belts"; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,185,910 patented Feb. 16, 1993 to T. Ziaylek, Jr. et al and assigned to T. Ziaylek, Jr. and Michael P. Ziaylek on a "Reversibly Releasable Latching Apparatus"; and British Patent No. 21,099 patented in 1908 to J. Sturm on "Improvements In Or Relating To Locks Or Means Of Producing Locked Connections Of All Kinds"; and German Patent No. 70520 patented Sep. 29, 1892 to R. Kruckel et al.